Lydiard House is set to smash records with a 100 per cent jump in annual profits this year according to the conference centre’s general manager Sean Brown.
Christmas party bookings have reached an all time high and bookings for early 2010 for the Swindon-based venue point to a 30 per cent increase in annual turnover and doubling of profits for 2009/10 compared with the previous year. To cope with this success, additional staff have been engaged, and several part time staff are now employed full time.
So how is Chartridge Conference Company managing to buck the trend when many hotels and meeting venues report fewer bookings, tumbling rates and reduced staffing levels?
Mr Brown said: “We have a superb sales team here, and despite this recession we have invested even more in staff training and development. The girls are now more focussed. They know what customers want and the best way of promoting our core values of quality food, excellent personal service and good value.
“It’s one thing to promise, but we then have to deliver. Increased training for all staff has helped strengthen our reputation for excellent customer service which means we are continually adding new clients to our very loyal customer base.”
The 18th century Palladian mansion house set in 260 acres of parkland is owned by Swindon Borough Council, and Chartridge Conference Company were contracted to run the conference facilities four years ago.
“Since we took over the management of Lydiard House, we have turned an annual loss into a healthy profit and have seen consistent year on year growth,” commented Chartridge Conference Company managing director Peter Darnell. “It clearly demonstrates that outsourcing specialist facilities to an experienced management team really does work. Swindon now has a conference centre to be proud of, which provides a positive revenue stream benefiting Swindon ratepayers and the local business community.”
